


Devil's Tag

by boredomsMuse



Series: Devil's Game [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Demonstuck, In place of Cool Kids tbh, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-05-06
Packaged: 2018-06-03 22:05:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6628462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boredomsMuse/pseuds/boredomsMuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You should have known better.  You should have known better and you should have stopped this before it started.  </p><p>Hindsight is 20-20 and while you should have known better you still made the mistake that you're still paying for 4 years later.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Prank Gone Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> In place of Cool Kids, which I have no inspiration for rn, i give you this start to a series.

You should have known better.

 

For a kid raised by a man with the motto that a prank can’t cause emotional, mental or physical harm you should have known better.

 

For a kid whose favourite movie series was all about ghosts and how much they could fuck people up you should have known better.

 

There are a hundred and one reasons why you should have _known better_.

 

Hindsight is 20-20.  You look back and see that your justification that the prank would help everyone relax was weak at best.  You look back and see that you played your best friend like a fiddle, using his weakness against him to get him on board even if you didn’t realize you were doing it.

 

“It’ll be fun, or are you guys chicken?”  You’d said, smirking a bit.

 

“Hell no I’m not chicken.”  Dave had said, always wanting to make sure that everyone knew he was the coolest person, always up for everything.  You knew that, and you used that.

 

“Then let’s play.”  You’d grinned at him.

 

It was Rose that set up the circle and the runes, you that put the doll in the centre of the circle, Dave that set up the coloured candles, Jade that gave everyone the pins.  But it had been you that had brought everything with you to Dave’s apartment on your monthly sleepover.  It had been you that handed out the sheets that had the chant on them and it had been you that had mouthed the count down before you’d all began to chant the seven line verse.

 

 _“Catch us, catch us, if you can,_  
For we can run and we can hide,  
While to the night you are confined.  
Catch us, catch us, If you can,  
For while we’re free our prize is grand,  
But if we lose, and catch us you do,  
My soul is what I offer you.”

 

You’d been fighting a grin when you’d all finished the chanting.  You’d planned to set off a fan to blow out the candles but before you could you heard the window slam open.  The four of you turned to it and when you turned back the candle was out and the doll was gone.

 

\---

 

You wake up with the voice of that distorted boys voice telling you to run ringing in your ears.  You gasp softly, trying to catch your breath.  You look around the room quickly, you’d kicked your blanket off at some point in the night but the salt around your bed is intact.  The wire traps hooked up to break and ring bells haven’t been tripped, the invisible demon traps are empty and the visible signals and traps remain intact. 

 

You relax a bit, feeling a bit safer now that you know you’re alone, it was just another nightmare.  The relaxing goes completely out the door when you hear a knock coming from your front door.  You tense back up and try to silence your breathing, just listening.  The knocks are constant, but there’s no set number to them.  Still, you don’t have friends anymore and no one can now where you are so you don’t know anyone who could be knocking on that door.

 

“John, there is no way you can be that deep a sleeper and still be alive.”  A voice that’s somewhat familiar, but not quite, calls through the door.  It lacks the giggling, distorted tone that your chaser has.

 

“I…”  You call after a moment.  “I’m coming.”  You get out of bed and carefully move around the traps in your room and then the ones in the living room and kitchen space outside your room that makes up the second of three rooms in your apartment.  The persons still knocking by the time that you reach the door and you hesitate.  “Whose there?”  You ask.

 

“Dave.  Who else?  Don’t answer that that’s a dumb question.  Can you just open up and let me in already?  It’s still technically ‘night’ and the hallway’s kinda fuckin’ dark and I swear to god I can hear footsteps, let me in.”  He sounds panicked and nervous but your brain stopped at his name.

 

“Dave?”  You mumble.  “How… how’d you find me?”

 

“I’ll tell you once you let me in.”  He says, sounding annoyed before taking a less-than-calm breath.  “Look, you have a peephole, right?  Use it.  I’m not laughing, not smiling, my skins no paler than normal, my cheeks are rosey.”  He says and you do what he suggests, looking through the peephole.

 

He’s taller than he used to be, lankier, with no trace of the baby fat he had at the start of puberty.  His hairs still blond, and he still has a side fringe, but it’s shorter now.  He’s wearing a red shirt with long black sleeves and a pair of black skinny jeans.  He’s got a necklace on, an earring in his left ear and a ring in his eyebrow.

 

You look past that though, focus on his frown, on the real skin tone in his flesh, on the lack of colour in his cheeks.  He’s pushed his shades down and his eyes are still clearly red, no blown pupils.  You know that your chaser always smiles, no matter how he looks, and his cheeks are always rosey, there’s always a fakeness to his skin.

 

Then again, the rules can change.  It used to be that his eyes were always blue.

 

“John, please.”  He pleads, eyes darting to the left before back to the peep hole.

 

“O-okay.”  You gulp eventually, unlocking the multiple locks on your door and letting him in.  Dave rushes inside and you shut the door quickly, locking it.

 

“Thanks John.”  He says, relaxing a bit.

 

“What are you doing here?  Why are you walking around alone _at night_?”  You ask, glad to see that your old friend is alive but still nervous, suspicious. 

 

“Gee, good to see you too.”  He rolls his eyes.  “Protection methods, the necklace is an amethyst, the piercing in my ear is an old rune.  I’ve got a few tattooed on my body too.”  He explains.  “As to why, I was looking for you.”

 

“At night?”  You frown.

 

“Yes, at night.”  He rolls his eyes.  “I found you like, literally however long ago that I left for your place.  Didn’t want to waste time.” 

 

“Dave, I thought we all decided it was safer on our own.”  You say.

 

“We also started playing Devil’s tag.  John, have you noticed our 13 year old selves made some pretty shitty mistakes?”  He comments.  “Glad to see you’re alive.  Nice place, and nice set up.  Holy shit, that’s like a hundred and one traps dude, I’d say over kill but then again.”  He trails off. 

 

“I’m glad you’re alive too Dave, but seriously what are you doing here?”  You say, frowning.  “How’d you even find me?”

 

“Shit, didn’t I mention?  I asked a demon.”  Dave says.

 

“What?!”  You snap, tense and with wide eyes.  “You can’t, you, fuck.  Why the hell did you do that?!” 

 

“Uh, because we already sold our souls we were started playing this god awful game?”  He says, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.  “I mean, really, we’ve been in this game for like, 38 months?  We’re still making $413 a week, still haven’t gotten any damn clue where the money comes from, still got a demon chasing us down, bluh bluh bluh.  How much worse could it get?”  Dave shrugs. 

 

“Oh, I don’t know, you could have actually been killed!”  You scold.

 

“Aw, shucks Johnny, I thought you didn’t care anymore.”  He smiles and there’s a bit too much sincerity in the sentence for it to be the joke he seems to be going for. 

 

“Of course I care Dave.”  You groan.  “That doesn’t mean you’re not being an idiot.” 

 

“Says you.”  He grins.  “I missed you John.” 

 

“I missed you too Dave, but you can’t stay.  It’s too dangerous.”  You sigh and he frowns.

 

“Damn, feeling the love John.”  Dave rolls his eyes. 

 

“Sorry I don’t want us both dead.”  You snap.  “There’s no way you made it this long without realizing people around us aren’t _safe_.”  You glare, trying to blink away tears that threatened to fall at the reminder of everyone it took for him to remember that.

 

“We’re not safe alone either John.”  Dave snaps back.  “The only thing we are alone is just that, alone.  No one watching your back, don’t you want that security?”

 

“I want my dad back Dave!  I want to go home and see my sister, I want to be able to have a normal life.  I want to not be a threat to everyone I say ‘hello’ too, I want to sleep without hearing his stupid giggle in my head!”  You shout, he opens his mouth to reply but you both here a giggle at the door instead.  There’s 3 knocks at the door. 

 

“Johnny, Davey, let me in.”  The high pitched child’s voice sings from the other side of the door.  3 more knocks ring out. 

 

“Fuck.”  Dave mutters.

 

“The doors been covered in holy water and blessed.  This side has at least.  And the door handle.”  You tell him, remaining quiet.

 

“Come on.”  The voice sings, knocking again.  “I just want to play.”  Their chaser giggles, once more 3 knocks rang out.

 

“Get lost!”  Dave shouts at the door.  You look at him like he’s insane.

 

“Aw.”  The voice sounds like its owner is pouting as they knock again.  “Come on Davey, don’t you want to see your brother again?”  You watch your friend flinch at that and you frown slightly.  You haven’t heard that anything had happened to Bro.  3 more knocks ring out.  “And Johnny, I can take you to your daddy.”  The voice promises before knocking again.  You flinch at that.

 

“Don’t listen to him, he’s lying.”  Dave mumbles to you.

 

“I know.”  You say.  The knocking continues, as does the pleading voice.  The two of you sit and watch the door all night, making sure it never opens.  At 6am your neighbour leaves his apartment and the sun creeps up.  It’s officially ‘morning’.  You sigh in relief as the knocking finally stops.

 

You and Dave remain silent for a while before Dave speaks up.

 

“I want to go home too.  It’s the reason I summoned a demon John, he says he knows how we can end this stupid game once and for all.”  Dave says, talking quietly and softly.

 

“And you trust a demon?”  You frown.

 

“He’s all I’ve got.  All _we’ve_ got.”  He sighs.  “I have to trust him.  Thing is, it’s all or nothing.  He says he can’t help at all without all four of us.  Not that I’d have left you and the girls hanging anyway.”  Dave says, sounding so much more serious than he did when he got here.  You don’t think you’ve ever heard him this serious, staring straight ahead and not looking at you.  “So what do you say John?  You wanna go home?”  You hesitate.  You don’t trust demons, and you don’t think that’s a bad thing.  But there’s been no hint their ever was a way out before this. 

 

“I want to go home.”  You mumble, agreeing with a yawn and nod.  You rest your head against your old friends shoulder and you hear him mumble ‘awesome’ before you fall asleep.


	2. A Dangerous Pride

You should have known better.            

 

For a kid raised to be the coolest thing since ice, not including your elder brothers, you should have known better.

 

For a kid whose dreams of the future never failed to be true and who’d dreamed of the outcome before it happened you should have known better.

 

There are a hundred and one reasons why you should have _known better_.

 

Foresight should have been 20-20.  You can look back and tell yourself that you didn’t know back then but really, you did know.  You should have known when you dreamed that time that Bro would beat you in a strife when you broke his favourite record and then that exact thing happened.

 

You should have known when you dreamed that those kids went missing.

 

But none of that had mattered because John had said you were a chicken if you didn’t do it and there’s no way you could have looked like anything but the coolest kid on the block.  You were pathetic and he played you like a fiddle.

 

You don’t remember much of the actual ritual.  You remember having to convince Jade to do it, you remember pricking your finger and having the blood land on the doll and you remember the taunting ‘run’ that John swore wasn’t him.

 

You remember refusing to believe him until you heard running in the house and you were the only ones home.  Dirk was at John’s house with his friends having a sleep over, Bro was at work.  _No one could be running in the halls._

 

You didn’t sleep that night.

 

You don’t sleep most nights.

 

“You swear I’m going to the right place?”  You ask as you pack up the few things that matter to you in the small, worn backpack you try to have on you 24/7.

 

“For the fiftieth fucking time, _yes_ I am sure.”  The demon on your bed groans. 

 

“Just checking, I mean you could be lying.”  You shrug, putting your backpack on and turning to look at him.  He’s so… _human_.  Nothing like the demon determined to kill you and your friends.  He’s eyes are black and the whites a little too yellow, and his skin a bit too pale.  But if you don’t look too closely you could mistake him for a kid about your age.

 

“I _can’t_ lie dickweed.”  He says, rolling his eyes at you.  “It’s in the terms and conditions of the fucking deal we made, or did you write the fine print in your sleep asswipe?”

 

“Well, I could’ve, I mean I was pretty sure I was dreaming when I saw you.”  You flirt back with a wink.  He just gives you a deadpan look.

 

“That’s almost as fucking terrible as your ‘are you an angel’ line.”  You tells you.

 

“What can I say?  It’s a gift.”  You say as dramatically as you can.  He doesn’t even need to voice the ‘you’re a fucking idiot’ look he gives you.

 

“You’re a fucking idiot.”  He does it anyway because that’s the personality you’ve asked for help from.

 

“Whatever, I’m off.”  You say, slipping the backpack on and giving him a wave.

 

“It’s dark.”  The demon frowns.  “You’ll get tagged.” 

 

“Then bail me out before that happens.”   You say, waving him off and heading out the motel door with an angry shout of ‘that’s not how it fucking works’ following you out.

 

John’s place is a bit of a distance from your motel and it _is_ dark.  You’re not worried though.  If anything bad happens you’ll just have to wake up and redo it, making a different choice this time.  Besides, you’ve got more than enough protection on your body.  At least you hope so.

 

All the same you hear an extra footstep the whole way there, letting you know your chaser can’t touch you right now, or won’t, but he’s certainly found you.  You pretend not to notice, breaking into John’s apartment building and heading to his apartment number. 

 

When you get to his door the lights start flickering and you here the elevator moving.  You knock loudly and impatiently.  You’re protected, you’re gifted, but what if both those things fail this time? 

 

The thought has you knocking louder and calling for the boy who was once your best friend. 

 

“I… I’m coming.”  You hear his voice and it’s deeper, you wouldn’t’ve recognize it if he’d called out to you on the street.  He sounds sleepy and distant and you hear sleep heavy footsteps coming to the door.  “Whose there?”  He asks.

 

“Dave, who else?”  You answer before you think and wow what a dumb ass question.  You doubt he recognizes your voice, and you’re fully aware of who you’d assume was at your door if the roles were reversed.  Jesus you’re an idiot.  “Don’t answer that that’s a dumb question.  Can you just open up and let me in?  It’s still technically ‘night’ and the hallway kinda fuckin’ dark and I swear to god I can hear footsteps, let me in.”  Oh geez, you sound panicked and nervous and sure, you are panicked and nervous but that doesn’t mean you want to sound like it.

 

You hear a giggle.

 

“Dave?  How’d… how’d you find me?”  He asks and seriously why does he care?  Expect you know why he cares and it’s the same reason you want him to just open the fucking door.  The problem is you don’t think saying “How’d I find you?  It was child’s play, really, a demon told me” is going to go over too well right now.

 

“”I’ll tell you once you let me in.”  You try to keep the annoyance out of your breath but you can hear it loud and clear and you wince, taking a deep breath to try to calm down.  You need to think of a way to convince him you’re you.  You spy the peephole on his door.  “Look you have a peephole, right?  Use it.”  That sounds a tad too demanding Dave, you mentally scold yourself.  It doesn’t stop you from talking.  “I’m not laughing, not smiling, my skins no paler than normal, my cheeks aren’t rosey.”  There’s a pause and fuck was that another giggle?  You push your shades down so he can see your eyes, even if that rule changed you think it might help to see them.

 

“John, please.”  You try to put as much emotion and desperation in the 2 words, try to convince him that you’re not the demon he’s worried you are.

 

“O-okay.”  He gulps and you hear locks unlocking but you also hear rushing footsteps so when the door opens an inch you all but race inside and he closes and relocks it just as quickly as you’re inside.

 

“Thanks John.”  You say, catching your breath and relaxing a little.  When the panic leaves you you’re left with only John.  John who you haven’t seen in almost 4 years.  John who’s aged without you, whose gained muscle, height, and hair.  He’s lost the glint in his eyes that he used to have, that cheeky innocence.  His eyes are still as blue as blue can be, his overbite still there.  He’s a little taller than you now, a little more than a little bulkier.  He’s wearing blue pyjama pants and a white shirt and standing in front of him right now you feel like you’re still the 13 year old with a squeaky voice and too long limbs.

 

“What are you doing here?  Why are you walking around alone at _night_?”  He asks and you snap out of your creepy staring.  Now you remember why you didn’t want to see him at a safer hour.  You knew where he was and you had to see him.  You almost smile. 

 

“Gee, good to see you too.”  You joke, rolling your eyes.  “Protection methods, the necklace is an amethyst, the piercing in my ear is an old rune.  I’ve got a few tattooed on my body too.”  You answer the unspoke ‘how the hell aren’t you dead when you were walking around at night’ but elect to ignore the ‘what are you doing here’ part.  “As to why, I was looking for you.”

 

“At night?”  He frowns and you wonder why he’s still suspicious.  If you were the chaser you’d already have tried to kill him, right?

 

“Yes, at night.”  You roll your eyes again at him.  “I found you lie, literally however long ago that I left your place.  Didn’t want to waste time.”

 

“Dave, I thought we all decided it was safer on our own.”  He says it tugs at your heart and your gut.  Mentally you correct him.  _They_ decided it was safer.  You watched them leave, not wanting them to go but terrified they were right, terrified that you were a danger to be around.  _You_ didn’t decide it was safer, you were just terrified it might be.

 

“We also started playing Devil’s tag.  John, have you noticed our 13 year old selves made some pretty shitty mistakes?”  You say, trying to sound smooth and calm, not wanting to let on how angry you are that you didn’t try to make the stay, didn’t protect everyone.  You should have known better.

 

You decide to look around, not wanting him to be able to see the emotion on your face.  “Glad to see you’re alive.  Nice place, and nice set up.  Holy shit, that’s like a hundred and one traps dude, I’d say over kill but then again.”  You trail off, not wanting to speak the rest of that sentence.  The place is really nice, you’re almost jealous.

 

“I’m glad you’re alive too Dave,”  He says and your heart flutters a little.  Maybe, just maybe, he doesn’t hate you.  “but seriously what are you doing here?  How’d you even find me?”  You have too questions to choose from and you don’t want to answer either of them.

 

“Shit, didn’t I mention?”  You say, trying to stay calm and sound smooth.  You chose to answer the easier to swallow one.  “I asked a demon.” 

 

“What?”  He snaps, his position changing instantly.  He’s tense now, eyes wide.  You flinch a little.  “You can’t, you, fuck.  Why the hell did you do that?!”  He’s shouting at you and you really, really hate shouting but at least he’s not kicking you out… yet.

 

“Uh, because we already sold our souls when we started playing this god awful game?”  You say because you’re not sure what else to say.  You got desperate.  Desperate times call for desperate measure.  You need a way out of this game.  You don’t mean to keep talking but you’ve never been great at keeping track of your tongue.  “I mean, really, we’ve been in this game for like, 38 months?”  You say as though you haven’t kept track of every month, every day, every _hour._   “We’re still making $413 a week, still haven’t gotten a damn clue where the money comes from, still got a demon chasing us down, bluh bluh bluh.  How much worse could it get?”  You shrug, try to brush it off.  You know how much worse it could get; you’ve seen the scars and heard the nightmares; you’ve seen where your mistakes lead.  Getting help from a demon isn’t going to do any more harm then you’ve already got coming.

 

“Oh, I don’t know, you could have been actually killed!”  He shouts and you try not to laugh.  How are you supposed to explain it to him?

 

“Aw, shucks Johnny, I thought you didn’t care anymore.”  You can’t explain it to him so you joke instead, conceal the truth badly in comedy. 

 

“Of course I care Dave.”  He groans.  “That doesn’t mean you’re not being an idiot.”

 

“Says you.”  You continue to joke.  “I missed you John.”  You mumble, looking at his feet.

 

“I missed you too Dave,”  He sighs and you feel your heart flutter again.  “but you can’t stay.  It’s too dangerous.”  The moment of hope and sense of joy vanishes and you frown.

 

“Damn, feeling the love John.”  You mumble, rolling your eyes.

 

“Sorry I don’t want us both dead.”  He snaps and you flinch.  “There’s no way you made it this long without realizing people around us aren’t _safe_.”  He’s glaring and suddenly you’re mad.  Does he really think you’re not aware of that?  Doesn’t he know what happened to your brother?  Of course not.  He’d already left by then. 

 

“We’re not safe alone either John.”  You snap.  Why can’t they understand that?  Why didn’t they understand that when they left you years ago?  “The only thing we are alone is just that, alone.  No one watching your back, don’t you want that security?”  Doesn’t he want to stop worrying that hi best friends are dead or dying alone?  Doesn’t he care?

 

“I want my dad back Dave!  I want to go home and see my sister, I want to be able to have a normal life.  I want to not be a threat to everyone I say ‘hello’ too, I want to sleep without hearing his stupid giggle in my head.”  He shouts back and you want that too, doesn’t he understand that?  You open your mouth to shout it at him, to try to get it through his thick head but your cut off by a knock at the door.  3 knocks at the door. 

 

“Johnny, Davey, let me in.”  Speak of the devil and he shall appear, that’s how the saying goes right?

 

“Fuck.”  You mumble when 3 more knocks ring out.

 

“The doors been covered in holy water and blessed.  This side has at least.  And the door handle.”  He tells you, voice a whisper now instead of a shout, as though that will help.

 

“Come on.”  His stupid voice sings and he knocks again.  “I just want to play.”  There’s the giggle that plagues your nightmares, plagues your nights in general. 

 

“Get lost!”  You shout at the door.  You’re so fucking done with him, so fucking mad at John for not understanding, mad at everything, and you put all that emotion in two single words that won’t make the demon leave anyway.

 

“Aw.  Come on Davey, don’t you want to see your brother again?”  You flinch at that, the wound still as raw as all the others from that same year.  “And Johnny, I can take you to your daddy.” 

 

“Don’t listen to him, he’s lying.”  You mumble because you know what happens if you make the mistake of listening.

 

“I know.”  He says, still quiet.  Of course he knows.  The voice laughs and knocks again, repeats over and over how he just wants to play, how everything will be better if you just let him in.  You know he knows it won’t work, he’s needs to work harder to trick you this late in the game.  But you all know you won’t get any sleep if he tries anyway.

 

You stay awake and stare at the door until the sun creeps up and the knocking finally, _finally_ stops.  You hear John sigh. 

 

“I want to go home too.  It’s the reason I summoned a demon John, he says he knows how we can end this stupid game once and for all.”  You say, the anger from hours ago gone, just calm and collected and very, very tired.

 

“And you trust a demon?”  He asks, his voice just as tired as yours.

 

“He’s all I’ve got.  All _we’ve_ got.”  You sigh.  “I have to trust him.”  And even if he wasn’t your only option you’d think you’d still trust him, maybe not at first but now that you know him you trust him wholeheartedly, not that you’d admit that.  “Thing is, it’s all or nothing.  He says he can’t help at all without all four of us.  Not that I’d have left you and the girls hanging anyway.”  You say, trying to make sure you sound as serious as this situation is.  You don’t look at him, staring ahead rather than at him to keep from getting nervous.  “So what do you say John?  You wanna go home?”  You ask, thinking that maybe that’s manipulative.  It’s true though.  You can’t head home if you don’t end this game and this is the only chance you have to end it.

 

“I want to go home.”  He mumbles with a yawn and you relax until you feel his head on your shoulder. 

 

“Awesome.”  You mumble, looking over and watching John drift off.  After an hour or so you take your phone out and call the demon in your motel room. 

 

“Here I was thinking you’d fucking died.”  He says before he even greets you and you chuckle lightly.

 

“Glad to know you were thinking of me.”  You say.  “John and I got a bit distracted.”

 

“I don’t want to know.”  The demon stops you quickly and you roll your eyes.  “The important part is if he’s on board.”

 

“He is.”  You say.  “1 down, 2 to go, right?”

 

“Right.”  The demon agrees.  “When are you going to be back?”

 

“Not sure.  I’ll text you when we’re on the way.”  You shrug.  “For now I’m going to sleep.  Night Karkat.” 

 

“Night Dave.”  You fall asleep before you can even click ‘end call’.


	3. A Ripped Out Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is gore in this. Not for the light or heart.

You should have known better than to sleep on the floor, leaning against the counter.  When you wake up your neck is stiff and sore and Dave is drooling on your shoulder.  There’s also a loud knocking at the door.  You look at the window and see the sun raised so, with a groan, you move Dave’s head off of your shoulder and stand to open the door. 

 

The girl on the other side has brown eyes and hair, she smiles at you and it takes a lot of will power not to flinch.

 

“Morning John, or afternoon really.”  She greets, laughing lightly.

 

“Hi Sarah.”  You greet, trying not to sigh at your overly friendly neighbour.  She’s not a bad person, actually just the opposite, and in another life maybe you could have gotten to know her and could’ve been friends but you know you can’t get close to her, not now.   “No school today?”  She’s your age and lives across the hall with her father.

 

“Nop, holidays started the other day.  I guess you wouldn’t know, taking online classes and all.”  She laughs kindly.  “But I was wondering, since they have and all, that maybe, just maybe, if you wanted to catch a movie with me sometime?”  She stutters her way through the offer and your thrown for a loop for a moment, mouth opening a few times as you try to think of something to say.

 

“John?”  Saved by the blond, Dave yawns and you look over your shoulder to way his still sitting from your stake out. 

 

“Whose, uh, whose that?”  Sarah asks, trying to look around you.

 

“Oh, uh, that’s Dave.  He’s an old friend who just got in last night.”  You say, the lie coming quickly.  “I would love to watch a movie with you, but uh, I have a guest and I don’t know how long he’s hear for but it’s been a while since we saw each other so I don’t want to waste any time.  Sorry.”  You tell her and you surprise yourself with how honest it actually kinda feels.  You see her mouth twitch but then she just smiles and nods.

 

“Right, uh, maybe some other time then.  Bye John.”  She says, trying to remain chipper.

 

“Bye Sarah.”  You shut the door and hear her walk to her own apartment.  Behind you Dave winces.

 

“Ouch man, ‘waste time’ was probably not the best way to but that.  I’m fluttered, really, but phrasing dude.”  He says and you curse.

 

“Can we just drop it, alright?”  You mumble.  “It’s not like I could risk getting close to her anyway.  You know that.”  It’s silent for a moment, awkwardly silent, before Dave gets up off the floor.

 

“I’ll make us breakfast.”  He says and you sigh softly.  “You got stuff for pancakes?”

 

“Uh, yeah… just in the cupboard and the fridge.”  You mumble.  “Want a hand?” 

 

“Nah it’s cool, I got this.”  Dave shrugs.  He starts to get the pancakes ready and you sit on a stool on the other side of the bench.  Again an awkward silence fills the space between you.

 

You really shouldn’t be wanting to fix this.  The second he got here you tried to kick him out.  It’s dangerous together.  But he’s right, it’s dangerous apart.  With that single you really should have already known you finally let yourself admit what you’ve tried to ignore for years.

 

“I missed you Dave.  Like a lot.”  You sigh.  “Sorry about last night.”

 

“Don’t be.”  He shrugs.  “I get it.  People around us get hurt and it’s hard to let yourself be with anyone when you think like that.  Even people in the same situation.”

 

“Geez you already found Rose or something?”  You try to joke and you know you sound like it’s a stretch but he lets out a laugh anyway.  You think, hope, something mends.

 

“Nah bro, just a genius.”  He grins.

 

“Modest too.”  You tease. 

 

“You know it.”  He smirks before turning to the stove to start cooking the mixture he prepared.  The silence that follows after you finish laughing lightly is still a little awkward but slightly less so.

 

“Do you really trust this demon?”  You ask after a moment.

 

“Yep.”  He hums and you’re glad he doesn’t sound offended.

 

“What’s their name?”  You ask.

 

“He wants to introduce himself.”  Dave answers. 

 

“When?”  You press.

 

“When he has to.  So when the four of us are together again.  He’s just a bit nervous about doing it earlier.”  He tells you, still sounding patient as he flips the pancake.

 

“Why?”  You frown.

 

“Because he’s not meant to be helping us.”  Dave sighs.  “He doesn’t want to get caught doing it.”

 

“Right.”  You mumble.  “You’re certain he can though?”

 

“He couldn’t’ve made the deal with me if he couldn’t.”  Dave says, moving onto the next pancake.

 

“Okay, what do we do next?”  You ask and you think he perks up a bit.

 

“Find Rose.”  He says. 

 

“How?”  You ask, raising an eyebrow.  “It’s don’t it’s as easy as giving her a call, I don’t even have a phone let alone her number.”

 

“That’s the thing.”  He tells you.  “We don’t need that, we just need good guess work.”

 

“Yes, guess from the whole world.  That’ll be easy.”  You say sarcastically.

 

“Oh cute, you learnt sarcasm.”  He teases.  “Now can you just let me finish?”  He raises an eyebrow at you, finishing the second pancake.  You roll your eyes and gesture for him to continue.  “Thank you.  Now, we both know there are certain rules to this game.  He can’t open a closed door without permission, not including doors to public spaces though, and he can’t lie to us.”

 

“Yes Dave, I am well aware of the rules.”  You groan.

 

“Hush.”  He shushes you.  “Well, we’ve got rules we have to follow to, you know.”  You frown at that.  “Actually they’re more things that give the Chaser an advantage if we do them, like going out at night or being somewhere dark alone.”  He clarifies.  “Another one is that if we do something considered a ‘sin’ he’ll know where we are.  All demons will, in fact.  And I don’t know what Rosey’s been up to be it aint pure.”

 

“What counts as a ‘sin’?”  You frown.

 

“I don’t know, that’s not the point.”  He rolls his eyes.  “Rose has a way to make sure no one can pinpoint where she is, but she’s we’ve got a radius.” 

 

“What’s the radius?”  You ask.

 

“John, seriously bro, let me get to that.”  He complains, moving to the next one.  “She’s somewhere in New York.”

 

“New York?”  You ask.  “Have you considered that she went home then?”  You ask, as though its th most obvious thing in the world because really it should be.

 

“…No I hadn’t.”  Dave admits after a moment and you roll your eyes.

 

“Then let’s head there first.”  You suggest as Dave serves you pancakes.

 

“Awesome, we should book the flights for tomorrow.”  He says.

 

“Alright, I’ll do that after we finish eating.”  You nod, digging in. 

 

* * *

 

At 4pm you hear a knock at the door.

 

“Someone’s popular.”  Dave comments from the couch but you ignore him and head to the door, the sun still up though it won’t be in a few more hours.

 

“This is your fault.”  A man screams at you, tears streaking down his face.  It’s Sarah’s father, he has a gun pointed at you.

 

“What?”  You ask, dumbfounded and confused but not quite ‘scared’.  A gun is nothing compared to everything else you’ve felt.  You hear Dave get up and look over and in seconds the guy’s hand is twisted behind his back and the gun is out of it.

 

“What the hell man?!”  Dave shouts.

 

“It’s his fault.”  The man screams at you, choking on a sob.  “It’s your fault my daughters dead!”  Your heart stops and you see Dave freeze.  In a second you rush out of your room and though the open door of Sarah’s.

 

“John don’t!”  Dave tries to call after you but you don’t listen.

 

Sarah is pinned to a wall, neck at an unnatural angle but head tilted so that she’s staring at you.  One eyes been gouged out, the other stares blankly at you as you enter and fall to your knees.  Her face is twists into an unnatural grin, the sides of her mouth cut open.  Her chest has been torn open as well, and multiple ribs have been pulled out.  You don’t have to look hard for the four removed ones, one pins her left hand, a second her right, a third her feet.  Each of her fingers and toes are bent to unnatural angles, twisted and gruesome.  The fourth rib pins her heart to the wall.  There’s writing on the wall next to her body.  You don’t want to read it but you know it’s meant for you so you force yourself to look away from her one dead eye to the wall.

 

‘YOU SHOULDA JUST OPENED THE DOOR JOHNNY.  or maybe you just wanted someone else to rip her heart out too.’

 

You shout, flinching way, when someone touches your shoulder.  Wide blue eyes take in Dave, grim faced.  You don’t know who he’s looking at behind his shades but there’s no way he’s missed the gorey scene.

 

“He’s right.”  You choke out.  “It’s my fault.” 

 

“No.”  Dave says.  “John this isn’t your fault.” 

 

“It is!”  You shout.  “It’s my fault we played this stupid game in the first place.  If it wasn’t for me we’d be normal teenagers, my dad would be alive, Sarah would be alive,”  You want to continue but you can’t manage to as you continue to sob and cry.

 

You weren’t even close to her.

 

You feel yourself pulled against a lanky chest with arms tightly wrapped around you.  Dave shushes you, rubbing your back.

 

“This isn’t your fault John.”  He whispers.  “You can’t change what happened then and there’s no way you could have known what would happen.”  He assures you.  You don’t believe him but you don’t argue around your tears.

 

“It’s day time.”  You manage to get out eventually.  “He hurt him during the day.  The rules changed.”  You feel him shake his head.

 

“No John.  He can’t touch us during the day but that doesn’t mean he can’t touch anyone else.  And he’s in control of a lot of people, like the players that lost and people that make deals with him to name a couple.  They can’t touch us during the day either but he can make them hurt themselves or others.”  He explains and for a second you wonder how he knows and then you freeze. 

 

“Dave, what happened to your brother?”  You ask, moving away enough to look up at him.  He bites his lip.

 

“Don’t worry about it.  Come on, we need to call the police.”  He says, helping you up.  You don’t push, knowing you wouldn’t want to answer if he asked about your dad. 

 

 

The police get there and you’re questioned at the place.  Dave had knocked her father out and he’s taken by the medics.  No one suggests charges being pressed against Dave though.

 

Eventually the two of you are approached by two policemen while you sit against the hall wall, curled up against Dave while he rubs you’re back genteelly.

 

“We think we should take you both into protective custody.”  You feel Dave tense up next to you when the policeman speaks.

 

“Protective custody?”  You ask voice toneless.

 

“Clearly you were the attackers intended target.”  The man says and you think there’s more to it but Dave cuts him off.

 

“No.”  He says firmly.  “We’re not going with you.”

 

“Sir, you have every right to refuse our protection but please reconsid-“  The second policeman starts.

 

“No.”  Dave all but growls.

 

“But it’s not safe here.”  A third voice says and you look up and over.  A police woman with rosey cheeks and pale skin smiles at you.  Her voice seems too giddy.  You’re too numb right now to place it.

 

“Leave us alone.”  Dave glares at the woman.

 

“It’s close to sundown.”  The voice says, and you think you hear a giggle.  “Who knows what monsters come out once it’s down, come with us.”  The voice places.

 

“No, we’ll look after ourselves.  Dave, let’s leave.”  You say, standing up.  Dave follows and the two of you leave without any more trouble.

 

“Is that a rule change?”  You ask.

 

“Not unless she touches us.”  Dave mumbles and you look over, he’s on his phone.  He puts it away and turns to you.  “Let’s spend the night at my apartment, it’s closer to the airport anyway.”  You nod slightly.  You arrive just before the sun goes down.


	4. A Morbid Curiousity

You should have known better.

 

For a kid raised by a scientist who taught the dangers of trying to prove something in the wrong conditions you should have known better.

 

For a kid who was interested in the darker side of the supernatural and knew how dangerous all of it you should have known better.

 

There are a hundred and one reasons why you should have _known better_.

 

Foresight should have been 20-20.  You can’t pretend you didn’t have experience with the supernatural by that point.  You can’t pretend that you didn’t know what would happen if it worked.

 

You can’t pretend you didn’t know it would work.

 

Of course accepting what you did cannot change that it happened.  It won’t change that you jumped at the chance, John didn’t even need to try to convince you.  The second he’d suggested doing the ritual that was whispered around school campfires you’d agreed.  After you agreed you took charge. 

 

John handed you his bag and you took everything out.

 

“John, you hold the doll but don’t put it down until I tell you.”  You instructed, handing the toy to him. 

 

“Yes madam!”  John replied in his ever constant chirper tone, jokingly saluting you as he grabbed the doll.

 

“And Dave, you can handle the candles, only after I draw the circle.”  You said, taking the chalk and pins out before handing the bag to Dave.

 

“Cool.”  Dave replied, trying to sound calm but clearly not calm.

 

“Jade, you can pass us the pin later.”  You hummed, passing the pins to her.  She nodded but didn’t say anything.  You thought nothing of it, moving to draw the circle and the runes.  Once they were done you instructed Dave to place the candles, then John to place the doll.  Once everything was done and you took your places.  Jade handed out the pins, making sure not to do so over the circle.  John counted down but you lead the chant.

 _  
__“Catch us, catch us, if you can,_ __  
For we can run and we can hide,  
While to the night you are confined.  
Catch us, catch us, If you can,  
For while we’re free our prize is grand,  
But if we lose, and catch us you do,  
My soul is what I offer you.”

 

Once the chant was done you all pricked your fingers, letting the blood fall onto the floor.

 

The window slammed and you looked over without meaning to.  By the time you looked back the doll was gone and you grinned. 

 

Your smile hadn’t lasted long at all.

 

* * *

 

You watch the video feed from outside, resting causally and munching on easy mac.  Nothing’s happening on screen but you’re not surprised.  Your chaser hasn’t even been able to find you in years.  Still, you watch the screens during the night on the off chance something bad may happen.

 

“Rose, dear, that’s hardly a healthy dinner.”  A woman says softly, wrapping her arms around your neck. 

 

“Yes, well, a little unhealthy every so often is good for you.”  You hum.  “Have I told you that my sister’s the one that set these up, apparently she became quite the paranoid hermit after my vanishing and my mother’s passing.”  You say.

 

“Yes, I must admit she’s not the only one to react in such a way.”  The girl say, kissing the top of your head.  “Cal is not going to find you my dear, you said your mother was found at your villa and we are skilfully keeping this place hidden.” 

 

“Perhaps, although we seem to enjoy tempting fate.”  You hum, turning your head to kiss her softly.  

 

“I’m sure you would find a way to draw his attention with or without me Rose.”  She teases kindly against your lips after the peck. 

 

“I might, although I don’t believe it would be half as easy.”  You hum back.

 

“The odds are stacked as high against you as they can be.”  She counters.

 

“Yes, I am aware of that.  It’s the basis of this game.”  You sigh.

 

“Rose.”  Her voice loses the calm, soft tone and she points to a screen.

 

A boy with blue eyes is walking up to your door.

 

“Rosey.”  The boy calls, eyes looking into the camera at the door.  The white of his eyes look black in the camera.  You don’t think it’s a trick of the light.

 

“Fuck.”  You say.  “You need to leave.”  You tell the girl.  She hesitates a moment before pecking your lips again.

 

“Stay safe.”  She says.

 

“Of course.”  You promise with a smile.  You turn back to the screens as she leaves.  The demon Cal is still staring into your sister’s camera.

 

“Tell me Rosey, do you wonder where your sister went?”  He asks, you don’t fall for the bait and he begins to speak against after a few moments.  “You’ve been naughty lately Rosey.  Smart, of course you have been, but naughty.”  He giggles.  You watch him, biting your nail.  He starts to circle the house, eyes always on a camera.  Your eyes follow him through the monitors.  “Who’d you hurt?  Who’d you risk?”  He asks.  “Or… could it be someone else’s fault completely?”  He giggles and you almost flinch at the suggestion.  He starts to chant, singing as he skips around the building.  You know you have no weak spots here, there’s no way he can get in your house.

 

There’s a loud speaker outside, and the microphone in front of you.  You lean over and click the button.  “Good night Cal.”  You see him frown but you turn away from the screens.  You’re smart, he can’t touch you.

 

“Davey and Johnny are the ones that lead me to you.”  He calls.  You ignore him.  You head to your room, or the room you’ve claimed as yours.  It’s in the middle of the house, no windows and only one door.  You head inside and set the bells up behind you before settling into bed.  You’ve always been a light sleeper.  You’ll be fine.

 

You still have trouble sleeping, just barely hearing the sounds of a little boy chanting outside your house.

 

* * *

 

You wake up to knocking at your door.  You leave the windowless room to check your cameras.  All of them are smashed.  You frown and check the window.  It’s daylight.

 

You sigh softly and check the peephole, frowning. 

 

“David, Johnathan.”  You greet as you open the door.  “I was not expecting you here.” 

 

“Sorry for not messaging ahead, lost your number.”  Dave says sarcastically and you sigh.  You suppose you deserve it.

 

“Dave.”  John frowns at him. 

 

“I’m sorry.”  You say.

 

“That doesn’t change what happened.”  He mumbles.

 

“Dave, you realize this was your idea, remember?”  John reminds and Dave hesitates before sighing.

 

“Right, right.”  He mumbles.  “Rose, we need your help.” 

 

“What with?”  You ask.

 

“Ending the game.”  He answers.

 

“You know how to end it?”  You frown.  

 

“Not… exactly.”  He says, running a hand through his hair.  “But I know someone who does.  A demon.” 

 

“You trust him?”  You say.  The boys look surprised for a moment at the lack of a beat before your response. 

 

“Uh, yeah.”  Dave answers after a moment.  “Yeah, I trust him.” 

 

“Alright.  I’m in.”  You smile.


	5. An Impulsive Few Words

You’re awoken by a loud knocking on the door and a cheerful cry of ‘housekeeping~’.  You yawn and watch Karkat walk to the door being consistently knocked on in lots of 4. 

 

“I’m coming, geez.”  He complains to the cleaning lady, grasping the handle and opening the door without a second thought.  He’s greeted by a boy with blond hair and blue eyes, grinning insanely at him. 

 

“That’s a good boy.”  The boy laughs.  “Only that’s the wrong target.”  He adds, eyes meeting yours.  You reach for the salt but the lights flicker and everything goes black.  You hear the salt fall to the ground.

 

“Fuck.”  You hiss, going to stand up.  Someone grabs you by the neck.

 

“I’m sorry.”  Karkat whispers and then you feel nails go through your neck.

 

It’s quick and you awake to the sound of knocking on the door a cheerful cry of ‘housekeeping~’.  You sit up quickly as Karkat heads to the door, complaining.

 

“Don’t.”  You order when he has his hand on the handle. 

 

“What?”  Karkat asks, letting go of the handle. 

 

“Could you be any more of an idiot dude?  Do you actually think a cleaning lady’s gonna wonder in at like, 8 at night?”  You say.  “No wonder you lost.”  That was a little too far and you know it but you’re tired and he did just let in the demon of your nightmares… almost.

 

“It wasn’t my fucking fault I lost.”  He growls.  “Let me guess, I just killed you?”  You nod slightly, burying your head in your hands.  “You know normal humans can’t fucking do that.”

 

“What?  When something traumatic happens, like say, _death_ a normal human doesn’t wake up in bed with a second chance?  I had no idea!”  You reply sarcastically, rolling your eyes.  “If I knew why this was a thing I’d have told you Karkat.” 

 

“Bullshit.”  Karkat spits.

 

“Just because you’re hiding something doesn’t mean I am.”  You move your head from your hands to glare at him and notice that Karkat’s gone completely still. 

 

“What?”  He asks, nerves clear in his tone.  You sigh, you shouldn’t’ve said that. 

 

“Nothing.”  You say, rubbing your temple.  “The knocking’s stoped.”  You comment before looking around and freezing.  “Where’s John?”

 

“Rose’s place.”  Karkat answers after a moment.  “Remember?”  You think for more than 2 seconds and realize that yes, you remember John deciding to stay with Rose for the night.  You grab your phone and speed dial the number you grabbed off of Rose before you left her house. 

 

“John’s asleep Dave.”  Rose answers the phone quickly.  You wonder if maybe she’s been waiting for your call.

 

“You guy’s alright?”  You ask her.

 

“No, that’s why I have calmly answered the phone to calmly inform you that our dear Johnathon is getting much needed sleep.”  You don’t need Lalonde sass right now.  “As should you be Dave.” 

 

“Just woke up.”  You tell her, sighing.  “I got like, what, 2 hours sleep?  Maybe 1?  I don’t know.”

 

“The average adolescent should get between 8 and 10 hours sleep.”  She hums softly.

 

“The average adolescent isn’t awoken by a demon pretending some cliché cleaning lady.”  You roll your eyes.

 

“I guessed as much had happened.”  Rose says.  “I take it no damage was done?”  Your hand comes up to touch the part of your neck that was skewed.

 

“Nah Lalonde, you know me, smooth as ever and a total badass.”  You claim.  “Came away totally unscathed.”

 

“Of course.”  She says in a way that makes you at least 99% sure that she doesn’t believe you.  “Well, since you’re okay, you should try to get more sleep.  I’ll call you if anything changes here.  Stay ‘unscathed’.”  She hums softly and you run the hand through your hair.

 

“Right.  Night Rose, try to get some sleep too, okay?”  You say softly.

 

“Sleep well Dave.”  You don’t pull the phone away for a few minutes, you feel the bed dip slightly and realize Karkat’s sat next to you.  He hesitates to speak.

 

“I’m sorry.”  He mumbles.  “I should have been more careful.”

 

“It’s fine.”  You sigh.  “You kept your end of the deal and we’re both fine now.”  You shrug. 

 

“I’m sorry about that too.”  He mumbles.

 

“Don’t be, I told you too.”  You say.  “It was painless too, pretty instant.”  You add, trying to seem nonchalant. 

 

“You’re too fucking calm about this.”  He grumbles and you chuckle lightly.

 

“You’re too guilty over this.”  You counter.  “Aren’t you meant to be a blood thirsty demon?”

 

“No.”  The comment earns you a glare before he sighs.  “I’m… I’m not even really a fucking demon.”  He mumbles and you frown.

 

“What do you mean?”  You ask, looking over to him.  Karkat hesitates, biting his lip lightly. 

 

“Nothing, fuck just, just forget I said anything.”  He mumbles.  “Get some sleep Dave, I won’t open that stupid fucking door again until sunrise, promise.”  He informs you.  You want to push but he gets up and moves to other bed.  You lay back down and trying to sleep.  It’s restless, but at least you don’t get killed again.

 

* * *

 

You wake up around 10 in the morning to Karkat shaking you.  “Dave, John messaged you.  They’re on their way and I don’t fucking want to be the one to open the damn door.” 

 

“Is this the privacy thing or the what you almost did last night thing?”  You ask, trying to pull the blankets over your head.

 

“…Both.”  He mumbles after a moment and you sigh, pulling the blankets away to look at him.

 

“Okay, one, nothing actually happened last night, two, why are so hung up on them not knowing who you are anyway?”  You say, sitting up. 

 

“Because I think they’ll trust me even fucking less.”  He answers.  “I’m leaving.  Call me later.”  He waves and heads for the door.

 

“You remember you can teleport, right?”  You roll your eyes and get out of the bed.

 

“Maybe I don’t fucking like doing that asshole.”  He snaps, closing the door behind him.  You don’t bother locking it and by the time your dressed John messages you that they’re there.

 

“Door’s open.”  You call and the door opens, the two letting themselves in.

 

“That’s quite unsafe David.”  Rose comments and you just roll your eyes.  The both of you ignore the elephant in the room but John stares at it like it’s barely visible.

 

“Okay, so Jade next, right?”  John says, clasping his hands together, after a few minutes of awkward silence.

 

“Right.”  You answer, nodding.

 

“Any clue where she is?”  He asks and you think a moment. 

 

“No.”  You eventually answer.

 

“Then how are we meant to find her?”  John frowns.

 

“I’m not sure.”  You sigh. 

 

“Perhaps we could call her?”  Rose offers.

 

“Because so fair everyone’s been that easy to find.”  You roll your eyes.  “I literally had to summon a demon to find John.” 

 

“John’s the one that wanted us to part in the first place.  Jade was not.”  Rose sighs.  John doesn’t try to argue but you scoff.

 

“Because you were so against it.”  You mock.

 

“I was wrong Dave, we all were.”  She sighs.

 

“No, actually, not all of us were.”  You snap.  “I was never fucking wrong about any of this.  I was also right and no one ever listened to me.”

 

“I’m sorry.”  Rose stresses.

 

“Sorry doesn’t bring him back Rose.”  You shout.

 

“Nothing will bring him back Dave.”  She says, voice raising as well.

 

“What are you talking about?”  John shouts over the top of you both.

 

“Bro.”  You snap, glaring at John even though he’s not at fault.  “We’re talking about what happened to my brother.”

 

“What happened?”  John frowned. 

 

“My brother’s dead, John.”  You snap, as if he could know even though you refused to tell him.  You don’t care right now, you’re mad and lonely and hurt and anyone to vent the emotion on is better than yourself.  “Cal killed him.  Possessed him over the years and wore him down and then had him tear himself limb from limb in front of me.”  You shout.  “And Rose kept telling me over and over I was just being paranoid.” 

 

“I didn’t know.”  Rose mumbles.

 

“You should’ve listened to me.”  You snap.  “And John should have listened to me when I said this game wasn’t a good idea, and when I said we shouldn’t spilt up.”  You shout.  You see the blue eyed boy flinch.  “And I should have fucking listened to myself.”  You shout.  “I should’ve turned a blind eye to my fucking dreams, to everything.”

 

“What are you talking about?”  John frowns.

 

“What dreams?”  Rose asks.  You open your mouth, wanting to shout, but someone grabs your arm.  You didn’t even realize you’d raised it to a fist, didn’t realize you looked ready to strike.

 

“Calm the fuck down Strider.”  Karkat growls at you when you turn.  You only notice the redness you your vision when it fades away.

 

“Karkat?”  You ask, frowning.

 

“No, the fucking bogey man.”  He rolls his eyes.

 

“But you-” You start and he shushes you.

 

“Heard you losing your fucking shit.”  Karkat says.  “Thought you were too cool for that.”

 

“Shut up.”  You mumble.  “You’re an asshole.”

 

“Karkat?”  John asks and you see the demon flinch.

 

“Yeah… hey John.”  He mumbles.

 

“I’m not doing anything with him.”  John says.

 

“What?”  You frown.

 

“I don’t trust him.”  He states.

 

“Why not?”  You ask.

 

“Because we’ve met and I pretended to be a fucking human.”  Karkat answers through clenched teeth.

 

“I see, so it’s a complicated relationship.”  Rose comments.

 

“There’s nothing complicated about it.  He’s a liar and a fraud, I don’t trust him.”  John said.

 

“John, I’m going to help you end all this shit, okay?  Then you’ll never have to fucking see me again okay, so let’s just go find Jade and get this over with.”  He snaps.  John appears to want to continue the argument but the apartment phone rings.  You hesitate a moment before picking it up.

 

Jade’s scream makes you flinch and fills the room. 

 

Karkat hangs it up quickly.

 

“She’s not dead.”  He assures you, turning to Rose and John.  “It’s not a real scream, it was too high pitched.”

 

“Bullshit.”  John said.  “That was Jade screaming, she’s hurt, oh god what if he’s caught her?”

 

“John, it’s day time and last night he was fucking here.”  Karkat stresses.

 

“How can you be sure?”  John snaps.

 

“Because I fucking let him in like an idiot!”  Karkat shouts back.

 

“Karkat, you’re turn to calm down buddy.”  You say softly, turning to Rose and John’s confused faces.  “He didn’t let Cal in, otherwise we’d be dead.”  You leave out the dream.

 

“But he just-“  John starts.

 

“Let’s just forget everything said.”  Rose says.  “The important part is the fact that the four of us are together and that we now need Jade.”  The three of you hesitate a moment before Karkat sighs. 

 

“Alright, fine, whatever.  What the fuck do I care?”  He agrees.

 

“Sure.”  You nod.

 

“I still don’t trust him.”  John says, looking between you and Rose.

 

“John, a deal between a human and a demon is unbreakable.  We made a deal with our Chaser that we can our prize but in return he chases us until someone wins.  Dave’s deal with Karkat was that he had to help us win, correct?”  Rose says.

 

“Yeah.”  You nod.

 

“What’s Dave’s end of the deal?”  John asks.

 

“That I get to stay up here.  Trust me, no one’s going to be fucking happy if I go back to hell.”  Karkat answers.

 

“And it’s unbreakable.”  Rose adds.  John still hesitates for a long moment before sighing.

 

“Fine.”  He mumbles.

 

“Brilliant.”  Rose smiles.  “I’ll check if Jade’s number still works.”


	6. A Step Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was Doc 69 on word.  
> Hehehe.

You should have known better.

 

For a kid raised by an experienced man with the motto that no action is just as terrible as bad action you should have known better.

 

For a kid who had been friends with a group of the kids who’d gone missing and who shared a class with one of their older siblings you should have known better.

 

There are a hundred and one reasons you should have known better.

 

Should of won’t change the past.  You can’t go back and make sure you spoke up against John, Rose, and Dave, can’t go back to try to shift their focus onto something less dangerous, can’t go back and ‘lose’ the needles you handed out. 

 

Nothing you think about now can change what you did then.

 

It doesn’t stop that you think about it.

 

You’re pulled from your thoughts by your phone ringing.  You’re old phone.  The phone no one had rung since you were presumed dead.  You frown when you see an unknown number.  Curious though you open the flip phone and press it to your ear.

 

“Hello?”  You greet nervously.

 

“Hello.  This is Jade, correct?  It’s Rose.”  A voice that’s vaguely familiar speaks.

 

“Rose!”  You shout.  “Rose I’m so glad you’re okay!”  You smile.

 

“I’m quite fine, yes.  As are Dave and John, I’m with them currently.”  You think she’s smiling too.

 

“Really?  Say hi to them!”  You call.

 

“Harley we can hear you’re shouting.”  You hear a deep voice respond and you know it’s Dave, John never called you Harley.

 

“Well then, Hi Dave!  Hi John!”  You shout loudly into the phone.  You hear Rose sigh and then click a button. 

 

“You’re on speaker now Jade.”  She tells you. 

 

“Sup.”  Dave greets.

 

“Hey Jade.”  A second deep voice that you assume must be John says.

 

“It’s so good to hear from you all again.”  You say, smiling.  “How come you’re all together again?”

 

“We have a source here, Karkat, who knows how to win.”  Rose informs you and you frown.

 

“Karkat?”  You ask. 

 

“Yes, odd name I know but he is a demon.”  Rose hums.

 

“More like a ghost.”  You frown deeper.  “Karkat died when we were 13.” 

 

“Excuse me?”  Rose sounds like she’s frowning.

 

“Rose, do you happen to have some connection with Karkat I’m not aware of because right now it seems Karkat knew everyone and never told me.”  Dave comments.

 

“You never fucking asked, okay?  It’s shit I just wanted to causally bring up.”  His voice is gruffer and deeper but you can hear the laced familiarity.

 

“Oh my god.”  You breathe, a hand coming up to cover your mouth.  “It’s really you, right?”  You say softly.  He sighs softly.

 

“Yeah Jade.”  He mumbles.

 

“How long?”  You ask.

 

“A couple months.”  He replies after a moment.  “Sorry I didn’t tell you but what was I meant to say?  ‘Hey Jade long time no fucking see.  Oh what’s that you heard I was brutally murdered?  Yeah!  It was quite the fucking experience 0/10 stars would not recommend, which sucks since you’re playing the same game that killed me and like all my friends.’  I didn’t think that’d go over too well.”  

 

“Well fuckass you should’ve told me.”  You laugh.  You almost feel like crying.

 

“Jade?”  John says after a moment.

 

“Yeah John?”  You hum.

 

“You’re alright, aren’t you?”  He asks, sounding nervous.  It makes you frown a bit.

 

“Yeah John, why’d you ask?”  You know the game you’re playing doesn’t have great safety records but still, you’ve clearly been talking this whole time.  You hear a sigh. 

 

“We just got a call, it was you screaming.”  Almost soon as someone, you think it was Rose maybe Dave, finishes saying that your phone lets out the god awful noise that, after a moment, you realize is all your friends screaming at once.

 

“John!” You shout.  “Dave!  Rose!  Someone answer me!”  It’s a whole 3 minutes before the scream cuts off and you here your friends calling your name.  “Guys!  Are you alright, I heard screaming!”

 

“You’re the one that was screaming.”  Dave frowns.

 

“It’s a fucking trick.”  Karkat growls.  “Jade tell us your address, but Cal’s probably going to know it after.” 

 

“That’s fine, I won’t let my defences down.”  You say before relaying the address of the wood cabin not too far from Roses house that you’ve been staying in.

 

“We’ll be there soon.”  John promises before they hang up.

 

Before getting a chance to close your phone you get a text from Rose’s number. 

 

‘I’M ABOUT TO SEND YOU A MESSAGE ON MY PHONE  
\- KARAKT’

 

Soon after you get another message.

 

‘WE’LL USE THIS TO CALL YOU  
\- KARKAT’  
  
‘why do you have a phone if you’re a demon?  
~ jade’

 

‘1. THAT’S NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS.  
2\. I WAS TRYING TO GET UP THE NERVE TO CALL MY DAMN BROTHER, OKAY?  FUCK OFF ASSWIPE.  
\- KARKAT’

 

You let the conversation die there and wait for them.  You hear your dogs barking but nothing gets close enough to knock on your door so you don’t worry.  A few hours later your phone goes off and you hear a car pull up out front.  You grin and rush outside.

 

There they are, each different and older one back from the dead and all being circled by your dogs.

 

“PM, Jack, heel.”  You instruct.  Jack does what he’s told but PM still growls at the group before following the order.  Both of them are staring at Karkat.  “Sorry, they’re good pups, just a little protective.”  You say.

 

“Pups?”  Karkat shouts.  “They’re fucking hell hounds!”  He shouts. 

 

“Yep!”  You grin.  “They’re Bec’s pups though so they’re the pups.”  You hum.

 

“What happened to Bec?”  John asks.  Your smile falters and it goes silent for a moment.  “Sorry.”  He mumbles.

 

“It’s fine.”  You smile.  “You weren’t there.”  You say, though it makes him frown a little deeper so you quickly decide to change the subject.  “Let’s all head inside!”  You say, turning on heel and heading towards your house.  The group, including the dogs, follow you in.  PM growls at Karkat and the boy growls back.

 

“Geez Karkles, one might think you’re having a conversation there.”  Dave teases and Karkat looks at him confusedly for a second.

 

“Right, only demons can understand hell hounds.”  He mumbles, sighing. 

 

“Wait what?  You were actually talking to her?”  Dave frowns.

 

“Duh.”  Karkat rolls his eyes and you giggle a little.

 

“I always thought you guys would get along!”  You say.  “I just never got the chance to introduce you.”  You say.

 

“Can we not talk about that?”  Karkat mumbles, you frown slightly but nod. 

 

“Shall we talk about how to end the game?” Rose asks.

 

“Sounds like a plan.”  Dave stretches.

 

“Right.”  Karkat sighs.  You set everyone down on the couch.  “You remember the doll that you used to start the game?  You need that.  You need that, bleach, and the same symbols you used to start the game.”

 

“Symbols?  I thought they were runes?”  Dave asks.

 

“No, they were just some symbols i found when searching our nae and then 'symbol'.  It’s meant to be a symbol that represents you.  I just said they were runes.”  John mumbles, his voice almost oozing with guilt.

 

“Yes, I assumed they were runes as well until a short while ago.”  Rose hums.

 

“So how do we find the doll?”  You ask.

 

“How the fuck should I know?  It was your doll.”  Karkat rolls his eye.

 

“It vanished that first night though.”  John frowns.

 

“No, it was still in the apartment.”  Dave shakes his head.  “Bro found it.  I don’t even think Dirk owns the apartment anymore though.”

 

“Would he have thrown it out?”  Rose asks.

 

“I fucking hope not.”  Karkat says.

 

“It was Bro’s favourite thing so I doubt it.”  Dave shrugs.

 

“Didn’t Dirk have a storage unit?”  You offer.

 

“Uh, yeah I think so.”  Dave says, thinking back a bit before nodding.  “Yeah he did, for all of his robotics shit.”

 

“He might have put yours and Bro’s safe there.”  You smile.

 

“It’s worth a shot.  Can you remember the company?”  Rose asks, heading to your laptop. 

 

“Andrew’s houses or something.”  Dave shrugs.

 

“Weird name for a storage place.”  John comments.

 

“Hella weird.”  Dave agrees.  Rose searches the place, after you unlike the device.

 

“Found it.  The only problem is the company is closed weekends and the Friday’s a public holiday.”  She reports.

 

“What day is it today?”  Dave frowns.

 

“Thursday.”  You tell him, trying not to giggle a little. 

 

“Can’t we just break in?”  John asks. 

 

“It’s not worth the risk.  I suggest we break into the unit itself, as I doubt Dirk will press charges, though I don’t know what the company will say.”  Rose says.

 

“Awesome!  We can have a sleep over like old times until then!”  The group of them flinch at your words.  “Sorry.”  You mumble.  “Bad wording.”

 

“No.”  Dave says.  “No its fine.  We had a lot of good times before this shit started and who cares what started it, right?”

 

“Yeah.”  John agrees.  “Maybe I can get a little paranoid but no of you have ever tried to hurt me.”  He smiles, looking to Karkat who looks away.

 

“And maybe I should be more willing to accept someone else may be the smart on at the time.”  Rose smiles, looking to Dave.

 

“And maybe I should accept that people can’t change the judgements they make in the past.”  Dave smiles, looking to the both of them.

 

“Alright, sleep over it is!  I’m picking the movie.”  John grins.

 

“You are not.”  Dave instantly refuses.  Bantering that reminds you of your childhood begins and you smile, joining in.    You have no idea what just mended, but you’re glad it did.


	7. A Fourth Anniversary

“John why do you dislike Karkat so much?”  Jade asks as you stock up on popcorn in her kitchen.

 

“Huh?”  You play dumb.

 

“You’ve been glaring at him all night.”  Jade sighs.  “I thought that whole thing before when you guys got here meant everyone was fine.”

 

“No, it meant Rose, Dave, and me were fine and that I was going to _trust_ Karkat, not that I wouldn’t still dislike him.”  You correct her.

 

“See!  You do dislike him!  How come?”  Jade presses. 

 

“Isn’t this Rose’s department?”  You try to deflect but Jade gives you this _look_ and you know she’s not going to let you out of this that is.  You sigh and run a hand through your hair.  “We used to be friends.”  You mumble.  “He messaged me on this website I was on and we started talking.  I didn’t mean to, because I knew I was risking his life, but I figured it was just online, it’d be fine, right?  So we got close… and then one day he told him I needed to stop talking to him and he deleted everything.”  You tell her.  “That was the last I heard from him.”

 

“Have you asked him about it?”  Jade frowns.  “He’s here now, you could corner him about it.”

 

“No, I don’t want to.”  You sigh, kicking your foot again.

 

“Do you like him?”  Jade blurts out after a moment.

 

“No?  I just explained why?”  You frown, looking up to her.

 

“No, no, I meant do you have a _crush_ on him.”  Jade clarifies and you stutter a second.

 

“No!”  You say.  “At least not anymore.”  You admit, mumbling and Jade squeals. 

 

“That’s adorable!  Rose and I can fix this for you and we’ll get you guys a happily ever after!  Dave will be crushed but he’ll be okay.  You guy’s’ll be so cue together!”  She says and you’re not really sure what answer she heard but you don’t think it’s what you said.

 

“What?  No way Jade I don’t- what do you mean Dave’ll be crushed?”  You frown and her eyes widen.

 

“Nothing!”  She says, turning on heel and heading back to the living room.  You frown after her for a moment before turning to grab the popcorn.  You think you see a flash of blue in the window but a bark scares the hell out you and you try to see Jack growling at the window.  You frown, turning back and seeing nothing.  You take the popcorn and throw a piece to the hell hound.  He eats it and seems content so you brush it off and head back to the living room.

 

* * *

 

The next day you walk up with Con Air’s menu playing on the screen.  Jade’s on the floor tangled in blanket, Rose is somehow still graceful sleeping on the arm chair, and Dave’s nowhere to be seen.  Neither is Karkat.

 

You sit up, stretching and yawning before freezing when you realize how quiet the previous night was.  You grab the closet phone, Dave’s was sitting on the coffee table, and check the date.

 

Fuck. 

 

It’s officially, exactly, 4 years since you started playing Devil’s Tag.

 

The rules always change dramatically on the games anniversary. 

 

“You see Karkat?”  You look up and see Dave at the door, hair a mess and shades missing.

 

“Huh?  Uh, Karkat, no I haven’t.”  You shake your head.  Dave sighs and comes forward, taking the phone from you.  You watch him do it and realize your hands are shaking, he takes those once the phones out of his hands. 

 

“It’s okay John.  We’ve made it this far and it’s almost over.  We’ll be fine.”  He says softly.

 

“Promise?”  You whisper.

 

“Promise.”  He smiles.  You take a deep breath.

 

“I know it’s dumb but every time the rules change I think of Dad.”  You admit.

 

“It’s not dumb.”  He assures you.

 

“He wasn’t even on a year anniversary.  It was just that we’d reached a month.”  You mumble.  “And suddenly the Chaser could be seen by others if he wanted to.” 

 

“Shush John, don’t think about it.”  Dave says softly. 

 

“I don’t even know what happened though Dave.”  You whimpered.  “Just that I got home and my Dad had been murdered while Jane and I were at school.  And you guys were there for me then I left you all and apparently you all went through the same thing and I wasn’t there for you.”  You sob.

 

“I forgave you for that yesterday.”  Dave hums.  “Actually I forgave you ages ago.  I was mad at Rose.” 

 

“What happened to Rose’s mum?”  You ask.

 

“She drowned.”  You jump again, twitching and nervous, and turn your head to see Rose, you think she also has a few tears in her eyes.  “She drowned, and that’s no one’s fault but the Chasers.” 

 

“Bec was protecting me one time when I hadn’t set up any protections, the Chaser killed him.”  Jade tells you.

 

“What if something like that happens to any of you?”  You ask, fear and panic and every reason you left in the first place in your voice. 

 

“It won’t.”  Rose says firmly, confidently.  “Whatever today brings, we’ll face it.  And this time, together.”  She promises.

 

“Oh!  We should face it at this fair they’re having in town!”  Jade declares.

 

“Sounds fun.”  Dave agrees, not letting go of you yet and you’re glad.

 

“And there is safety in numbers.”  Rose adds.  You wipe your tears away because they’re right. 

 

“Let’s go.”  You smile.

 

* * *

 

The fair is fun, and there is a lot of people.  You don’t remember the last time you had this much worry free fun.  You go on rides, eat lots of sweets, laugh and smile and for a few hours it feels like you won’t be in danger once the sun sets.  The only hiccup is when you get out of a photo booth only to find the photos didn’t print.  One of the workers frowns when nothing seems wrong with the booth but just gets the machine to print it out for you. 

 

It’s an hour to dusk when you lose everyone in the crowd.  You turn around to get fairy floss and turned back to realize you’re alone.

 

“Guys?”  You call, looking around and trying to spot them.

 

“John?”  You turn to the voice and see a blonde girl with blue eyes smirking at you.  For a second you’re about to run before you realize why she looks familiar.

 

“Vriska?”  You ask.  She stalks over and grabs your collar, pulling you into a kiss.  You’d kissed Vriska before, you’d dated for a couple days a few months before the game started.  You try to pull away from her but she doesn’t let you for a few seconds.

 

“What the hell?!”  You frown.

 

“Close 'Johnny'.”  She smirks.  “I don’t why he wanted me to do _that,_ but I did so I have my freedom and Karkles loses his.  Fiiiiiiiinally.  Bye.”  She waves, stalking off.

 

“What?”  You frown, running after her.  “Vriska what do you mean?”  You lose her in the crowd but you do find Jade and Rose.  The former of who frowns at you.

 

“Did you say Vriska?”  She asks.

 

“Yeah, she was here a second ago, she kissed me then said some weird cryptic thing about Karkat.”  You say, still searching.

 

“John, Vriskas dead.”  Jade says.  “She went missing when Karkat did.”

 

“What?”  You freeze, staring at her.

 

“I would guess this has something to do with the rules changing.”  Rose says, frowning.  “Where’s Dave?”


	8. An Inevitable Truth

John is kissing some random blonde chick.  John is kissing some random blonde chick and you really hate it.  You told yourself you’d forget about it, you told yourself you’d get over him. 

 

You turn away from the scene, grabbing your phone and speed dialling Karkat’s number.  Like always he picks up almost immediately. 

 

“Where are you?”  You growl, not angry with him but angry and upset and heartbroken.

 

“The fucking motel, fuck, Cal knows I’m helping you and the rules just fucking c-“  You cut him off because you don’t care about any of this right now.

 

“I’m on my way.”  You hung up and walk to the hotel you booked for a week, mostly for Karkat more than you since he hadn’t planned on revealing himself to the others.  It’s a three minute walk and that’s not enough time to calm down again.  You open the door with little care and it swings shut behind you.

 

“The fuck happened?”  He frowns, looking you up and down.  You’re tense and upset and it’s obvious.  Your hands are clenched by your sides and your backs completely straight.  You don’t answer with words, instead you push him back against the nearest wall and kiss him.  His eyes widened and he pushes you back.

 

“John was kissing some random fucking blonde chick.”  You tell him.  “And I’m pissed.”

 

“So you’re kissing me?”  He growls.

 

“Yeah.”  You say.  “Because you’re good looking and I’m pissed and I want to do more than just kiss.”  You add, kissing him again.  This time he kisses you back, nibbing your lips lightly.  You grin against his lips, pulling away when you’re both panting.

 

“You know, I’m pretty sex with a demon counts as a sin.”  He warns but you shrug and peck his lip again.

 

“Don’t care.”  You say, voice breathless.  You can see a shiver run down his spine before he flips your positions so you’re pressed against the wall, his hands on your hips.

 

“You only want this because you’re upset with John.”  He claims.

 

“You’re right.”  You say, wrapping your arms around his neck.  “I’m upset because I’ve been in love with that black haired idiot for years and I can’t seem to shake it and he’s always been a blind idiot.  It’s for that reason I’m doing this.”  You emphasis the point by rolling your hips together.  “I _want_ this, however, because I’m in love with you too and right now I’m not upset with you.”  This time it’s Karkat who kisses you.  You pull him closer, deepening. 

 

You’re not sure if it’s before, after, or during that you make it too the bed but you fall asleep under the covers with him spooning you.  It leaves you feel less angry, less upset, and a little less heartbroken.

 

* * *

 

When you wake up you smile down at the still sleeping form of Karkat on your bed and you wonder, for a moment, what last night meant.  You’d admitted you love him and he certainly repeated it afterwards.  Still, you don’t know what you’re meant to do about it now. 

 

You check the time on your phone, 9am and 101 missed calls.  Maybe it wasn’t the best thing to ditch everyone without so much as a text.  You check your voice mail.

 

“Dave please call us back.  Please, we need to know you’re okay.”  It’s Jade’s phone but John’s the one talking.  “The rules changed, he can get to use during the day now please I need to know you’re okay.”  You frown slightly, that’s not possible.  Is it?  You sigh and call back.  It picks up almost instantly.

 

“Dave!”  You wince at the shouting voice of Jade.

 

“Sorry Harls, didn’t mean to worry you guys.  I’m at the motel with Karkat.”  You yawn.  “We were busy last night so I missed the calls.”

 

“What were you doing?”  Jade asks and your brain stops.  Your answer is a good long ‘uuuuuh’ until she says ‘oooooh’ and you sit in silence.  “Well that’s going to be awkward.”  She says after a moment.

 

“Why?”  You frown.

 

“Because John’s got a crush on him.”  She answers and you feel your heart stop.

 

“But he kissed some random girl yesterday.”  You say, not wanting to believe you just had sex with your crush’s crush, even if both of them were your crushes. 

 

“What?  No, she kissed him!  It was a demon too, one of Cal’s.”  Jade clarifies and it feels like a punch in the gut.

 

“That’s not possible.”  You grasp at all the straws you can reach.

 

“Didn’t you get the voice messages?  The rules changed he could kill us during the day.”  Jade sighs.  “Let’s talk about it later, okay?  You should just try to get here.” 

 

“Yeah, yeah alright.”  You nod, hanging up the phone.

 

You just sit on the bed for a good few minutes before getting up and getting dressed.  You don’t bother trying to wake up Karkat, you’ve learnt that nothing short of some reason pain can wake him up.  Instead you write a note and head out.

 

“Didn’t you hear Davey?” You hear a giggle behind you when you’re less than 10 steps down the hall.  “I can kill you during the day now.”  You don’t have salt, your tattoos and your crystals are all moon charged and you haven’t been out in the moon in too long.  You run, racing to try and get away before he can touch you.

 

You make it to the elevator before you throws you back.  You land on the ground, winded.  You’ve done this, over and over again, but right now you have nothing.  You’re not prepared for the daylight. 

 

Claws dig into your neck and you feel him grab your wind pipe before he slices that, and that alone.  His claws remain in your neck as you try and fail to breath.  You try to get away but it makes it worse.

 

“Wakey wakey Davey boy.”  He chuckles right before everything fades.  You don’t know if you bled out, drowned in blood, or just couldn’t breathe.

 

You wake with a start in bed with Karkat, who tries to curl into you.  You run a hand through your hair, trying to calm down.  You have to be more careful.

 

There’s a knock at the door.

 

You frown.  That didn’t happen before.

 

“Housekeeping!”  A cheery voice calls.  Maybe you just woke up earlier or later, that’s happened before.  You pull yourself out of bed and find your pants.  The person knocks again.  You don’t check the time.

 

“Coming.”  You call back, walking over.  You open it before you remember to check.  You try to close it but it’s too late, his foots inside.

 

“I hate letting people live this long.”  An eight year old looking boy says, pushing the door open and stepping inside.  “But I love how careless they get when they do.”  You step back, try to find salt, something.  “Calm down Davey, I’m not going to kill you again.”  He laughs.  You bring a hand up to your neck.  “You wouldn’t come back again and I want to still play with you!”

 

“What?”  You ask, voice hoarse, still searching.

 

“Your little gift!  Do you want to know how you got it Davey?”  He giggles, stepping inside and shutting the door.

 

“How would you know that?”  You frown, not risking to look over at him.

 

“Well how do you think I could possessive your bro silly?”  He flat out laughs and you freeze.

 

“What?”  You mumble.

 

“You were dying Davey!”  He says cheerfully.  “And you brother could take his precious baby boy dying so Bro asked me to save you!”  He smiles.  “And it left its mark, all those special talents you have are because I gave them to you.  Unfortunately though, it means we won’t get to play when I win.”

 

“What do you mean?”  You frown.

 

“Karkitty hasn’t told you yet?”  He asks, innocently.  “When I win you all go to hell with me!”  Cal’s grin widens to the ear splitting one you have nightmares over.  “And Johnny and Rosey and Jadey get to go into my special playrooms and I can play with them whenever I like!  Just like I did with him and his friends, expect one because she was like you.  If I’d known I would have played with her more too.” 

 

“What are you talking about?!”  You growl, wanting a straight answer, your eyes turn to the direction of the bedroom.

 

“When you die Dave, you’ll become a demon.  Well, all of you will at some point.  When the others get too tired to play they’ll give in and become my demons, like that girl I made kiss Johnny, but you’ll became a demon right away, and you won’t even be mine.”  He pouts.

 

“Why’d you make someone kiss John?”  You frown, catching on that rather than the fate that awaits your friends and you if you don’t win.

 

“Well I was figured if you liked Johnny you’d see him kissing someone you’d get mad and tell someone and someone would tell you Johnny and Karkitty like each other and you’d get even more mad and send him back to me!”  Cal said.  “Apparently you were too busy fucking to do _that_.”  He giggles and even you know he’s not really an eight year old boy it’s still weird coming from an eight year olds mouth.  “So I’ve come to tell you something that will work!”  He smiles.

 

“Why would you want that?”  You glare, though you can guess.

 

“Because, silly, he didn’t hold up my end of our deal!  But you’re letting him stay up here so I can’t drag him back to where he belongs!  If he’d just given in and been mine I could, but no, he has to be suborn.”  He huffs.

 

“What are you talking about?”  You frown, scanning again for the salt.

 

“Actually,” His grin manages to widen.  “how about you ask him?”  He asks.  “Ask Karkitty exactly what deal he made with me!  I’ll even wake him up for you!”  He clicks his finger and you hear a scream.  You turn your head to the sound and when you look back he’s gone.

 

You head to the bedroom and find Karkat pulling a knife out of his shoulder.

 

“Fuck.”  He mumbles.

 

“You okay?”  You ask, nervous about asking but you think you need to know.  Karkat’s shaking.  He scoffs a laugh at the question. 

 

“Sure, I’m totally fine.”  He says sarcastically.  “Cal knows where I fucking am, I’m doing great!”

 

“Karkat.”  You start and then pause for a very long moment.

 

“Yeah?”  The demon prompts after an awkward amount of silence.  You take a deep breath.

 

“What deal did you make with Cal?”  You ask.  He freezes.  “Karkat tell me.”  You say after a long moment.

 

“You don’t want to know.”  He grumbles eventually.

 

“I need to know.”  You glare back.  Karkat bites his lip.

 

“I was meant to kill John.”  He whispers after a moment. You face drops.  You don’t know what you were expecting, but it wasn’t that.  “Or really I was meant to find a way for him to let his fucking guard down.”

 

“You said you wanted to help us.”  You say, taking a step back.

 

“I do!”  He quickly shouts.  “Fuck.  Dave, you don’t understand, okay?  Hell isn’t a great place to spend any fucking amount of time in.  It was literal fucking torture day in and day out and I knew I just asked it’d stop but I’d become his fucking lap dog and I didn’t want to become a demon, I just, fuck, I just wanted to go home.”  He runs a hand through his hair, his eyes not leaving yours.  “Then he came in and said that if I did this one fucking thing I’d be home again, but first I’d have to be a demon, and I’d have to do this.  I figured it wouldn’t be a big fucking deal, I mean I figured John would be dead soon anyway and I was like ‘the fucker started the game he fucking deserves it’.”

 

“ _You_ fucking started the game too!”  You cut him off.

 

“No I didn’t!”  He snaps.  “Not the way you guys did, not on fucking purpose.  Someone trapped Cal in his object and we picked it up.  We didn’t stand a fucking chance because we didn’t even know we were fucking up against something until it was too fucking late, let alone _what_ we were up against!”  He defends and you frown, not sure what he means.  “But whatever because I actually fucking spoke to John and, and fuck, you should know better than anyone!  He’s not exactly easy to fucking want dead.  So I was going to go on the run but then you pulled a fucking open summoning and I was the closest demon that knew what you wanted.  I don’t want to fuckin hurt any of you.  I swear.”  Its silent, the both of you just staring at each other.

 

“You can’t lie to me.”  You say.

 

“I’m well fucking aware, so can you please just, fuck, just believe me, okay?”  He asks, his eyes finally dropping to the ground.  There’s a tone of desperation to his voice that you decided you really don’t like hearing.

 

“Fine.”  You mutter after a moment.  “We should get to Jade’s, they’re worrying.”  You turn away and put on a shirt before you grab salt and start towards the door.  Karkat, now fully clothed, grabs your shoulder.

 

“Let me.”  He says.

 

“You said it draws too much attention to teleport someone other than yourself.”  You frown.

 

“Not like it fucking matters now, right?”  He mumbles.

 

“Right.”  You mumble back.   For a second the you feel like a wave of nausea and the world like it doesn’t quite exist the way it’s meant to, then you Karkat pulls away and your just outside Jade’s protections.  She opens them to let you in before resetting them.

 

You and Karkat don’t even look at each other

 

It feels like something just broke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fucking a demon is definitely a sin.


	9. A Final Showdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some art sketches for this series:  
> http://amuseandbored.tumblr.com/post/143935967700/some-sketches-based-on-this-fanfic-i-write

“We need to break in, like now preferably.”  Dave says when you’re all standing the same room. 

 

“How do you suppose we do that?”  Rose asks.  “It’s dangerous to leave now that he can kill us during the day and the storage unit is only the other side of town.”

 

“I can do it.”  Karkat says after a moment.  “It’s not going to be fucking easy, and he’ll figure out where we are right away but at least we’ll get a fucking chance to end this shit before he tries to kill us.”

 

“Alright.  Let’s get everything we need first.”  Jade agrees.

 

“So what do we need?”  You join in.  Neither Dave or Karkat have looked at you since they got here, and thy haven’t said a word to you either.  You’re almost a little surprised Karkat replies.

 

“Bleach, crayon or chalk, candles the colours of the ones you used last time.”  He answers. 

 

“I have candles back at my place.”  Rose says.

 

“I’ll go get them.”  Karkat said.  You blink and he’s gone, from the corner of your eye you see Rose frown.

 

“I didn’t tell him where they were.”  She says.

 

“Oh well.”  Dave shrugs.  “Where’s the other safe Jade?”  He asks.  You wonder what you did.

 

“I’ll show you.”  She says, also frowning, and leads the way for Dave.  You and Rose wait on the couch for the others to come back.  

 

“Did I do something wrong?”  You ask Rose.

 

“You should ask Karkat and Dave that.”  Rose hums back.  You groan.

 

“We’re dealing with too near death experiences for this drama stuff.”  You say, leaning back into the chair.  Rose chuckles lightly and nods.  Soon you hear Karkat yell from outside Jade’s protections.  You decide to go and let him in yourself, setting them back up after.

 

“What do you think about Dave?”  Karkat asks, watching you reset the traps.

 

“What do you mean?”  You frown.  This reminds you a bit too much about the conversation you had with Jade the other day.

 

“Do you, you know, like him.  Fucking hell John you can’t be this oblivious.”  Karkat groans.

 

“How about I tell you that if you tell me why you told me to stop talking to you?”  You roll your eyes, finishing that up fixing things and heading back towards the house.

 

“Because I fucking care about you!”  He says, as though it’s obvious.

 

“Well I care about Dave then, that’s all you’re getting.”  You reply, causing Karkat to groan.  You head back instead and he drops it.

 

“We’re ready!”  Jade smiles from the group.

 

“Now all we have to do is find the stupid fucking doll.”  Karkat says. 

 

“Right.”  You take a deep breath.  “Let’s go.”  You say. 

 

“I’m ready.”  Jade says, putting her hand out.  You smile and put yours on top of hers.

 

“We might die, remember that.”  Dave reminds.

 

“Because we’re perfectly safe otherwise.”   Rose teases, putting her hand on yours.

 

“Good point.”  Dave smiles and puts his hand on hers and you can’t help but think he only made the joke to keep from touching your hand.  Karkat rolls his eyes but puts his hand on Daves.  Suddenly you feel sick and the world doesn’t feel right.  The next thing you know you’re in a storage room.

 

“This the right one?’  He asks.  Dave looks around, stepping towards some of the boxes.  He nods after a moment. 

 

“Yeah.”  He mumbles, picking up a book from the boxes.  “This is it.”  You want to go there to him and comfort him but right now you don’t think he wants you too.

 

“Let’s get to work.”  Rose says.  You each take a corner and Karkat searches the front.  It takes all of 15 minutes before the demon throws a box in frustration. 

 

“It’s not fucking here!”  He shuts.

 

“There are still boxes to search.”  Jade says, though she sounds just as frustrated. 

 

“Which fucking boxes?!”  Karkat shouts back, ignoring her attempt at positivity.

 

“How about you start getting everything set up while we search?”  Rose offers. 

 

“Whatever.”  He mumbles.  He clears a section in the middle and brings to draw a circle.  You try to focus on your boxes.  “Who knows the fucking symbols you guys used?”  He calls after a moment.

 

“I know them.”  You say, leaving your fruitless search to join him.  You start to write out the symbols before frowning.  “We didn’t have that as our one in the centre.”  You say, pointing to the actual rune that Karkat’s written.

 

“No shit.  That one means contain, it wouldn’t’ve summoned a fucking demon.”  Karkat rolls his eyes.

 

“Why contain?”  Rose asks, you can see her trying to keep her expression schooled as she searches. No one’s turned up anything.

 

“It’ll trap Cal in the doll.”  Karkat says.  “And it ends the game for you.” 

 

“What about if he gets out?”  Jade frowns.

 

“Won’t matter.”  Karkat says.  “He’ll only get out after 4 new people touch the doll.”  You finish the symbols again, standing again. 

 

“You said that’s how your game started.”  Dave frowns from his corner.  Karkat bites his lip, silent for a moment.

 

“Yeah, they’ll have their own fucking game, so what?”  He mumbles.  You, Jade, and Rose freeze.

 

“We’re not doing that.”  You say.  “I won’t put anyone else in this position.”

 

“You’ll end up dead if you don’t!”  Karkat says.

 

“I don’t care.”  You say after a moment.

 

“Maybe I fucking care!  I don’t want you to get killed, I don’t want Cal to get his sadistic fucking claws on you!”  Karkat screams at you.

 

“Why do you care?  You just want Dave’s side of the deal.”  You claim, rolling your eyes.

 

“I’m with John on this.”  Jade says.  “Maybe we can find another way around this?”

 

“There’s no fucking time!”  Karkat shouts.  “Do you even know what happens once you lose?  You’ll all get tortured, literal fucking torture, over and over until you give in and become a demon!  The problem is you don’t get that option until you last as long as the game fucking did and let me tell you four fucking years isn’t easy to deal with!”  His shout makes you gulp.  You’re damning yourself if you don’t do this, but you’re damning someone else if you do.

 

“We’ll figure something else out.”  Rose says, taking a deep breath.  You use your foot to rub away the crayon already drawn.

 

“Actually.”  Cal’s voice echoes through the room and you turn to find him standing to your left.  Yu start stepping backwards, getting close to your friends as the as the lights start to flicker.  “Karkitty’s right, it’s too late.”  He says angry, actually angry.  It’s somehow more terrifying then him being insane.  The boxes to your right sound like they explode, tumbling and causing your to shout and jump into Dave, who holds you steady.

 

“Fuck off.”  Karkat growls.  He stands in front of the group of you and you watch as his nails become claws.  “Stay behind me.”  He says, his voice deeper and more demonic now.  He turns to face you and his eyes have gone black.  Cal laughs.

 

“You can protect them Karkitty.”  The demon giggles.  “This is your fault anyway.”  He continues, voice suddenly a growl.  “ _I_ wanted to play with them some more but _you_ had to go and tell them how to win.”  There’s a blast of black energy, like shadows themselves, and Karkat’s pushed into you, knocking you and Dave back. 

 

The lights flicker out, there aren’t any windows; you can hear steps and laughter but you don’t know if Cal’s getting closer or not, the sound’s coming closer.  A red spotlight floods you all.  You don’t know if you’re in the storage room anymore.

 

“We don’t have any weapons.”  Jade whispers and you let out a shout when you feel something, a claw you think, cut into your arm.  You don’t even see him do it.

 

“Salt?”  Rose asks, though she looks like she’s contemplating saying something else.  You hear Jade yelp.  Karkat pulls you against his chest and you hear him hiss.  A cut is on his arm.  The skin around it turns black. 

 

“We’ve got nothing.  Fuck.  Karkat, get us out of here!”  Dave shouts.

 

“I can’t!”  He snaps.  “Why can’t you just wake up?”

 

“I already fucking did that today.”  He mumbles, touching his neck.  You want to ask what he means but Karkat pulls him out of the way of an attack and let’s go of you.  You feel a hand grab your ankle and you scream as your pulls down.  The hand is like shadows and it send a chill through you.  You reach out and Jade grabs your hand. 

 

The laughter gets louder.

 

You kick and scream and Jade pulls, until she drops you and you hear a scream.  You look back, away from the shadow grabbing you.  Jade’s clutching an injured shoulder, Dave’s on the ground, his leg bleeding, Karkat’s arms have been grabbed the way your foot is.  Rose has a shadow and around her mouth and her side is bleeding heavily.

 

You’re pulled further away.

 

You try to drag yourself away, looking back at the hand grabbing you and flaying again.  You scream and look back to your hands when you feel a knife go through you hand and pinning it to the floor. 

 

You’re going to die.  You’re literally about to be dragged to hell. 

 

You look back to your friends.  Karkat’s all but vanished into the shadows, Dave’s limb against the ground, Jade’s body is covered in paper cut like injuries, Rose’s feet have been pinned to the floor. 

 

You’re all going to die.  All because of a stupid mistake you mad at 13.

 

You shut your eyes tight, whimpering lightly. 

 

There’s a strange rush and for a second nothing feels right in the world then it passes.

 

You try to prepare yourself, pain eats away at your ankle and your hand and you try to prepare yourself for a brutal death.

 

5 minutes of nothing later you open your eyes and find you’re still on the floor of the storage room again.  Cal is gone, the shadows are gone, everything’s gone.  You look down and your ankle is covered in blood, your hand is still pinned.  You think you here Rose say something, a name maybe, and then you pass out.

 

* * *

 

 

You wake up in a hospital clinic, you look to your left and see a window, to your right is Dave.  You take a deep breath and sit up.  Rose and Jade are across from you, they’re all awake.  Your look down, your leg is bandaged.  You find your hand is too.

 

“You’re awake.”  Jade smiles from across the room.

 

“Where are we?”  You ask.  “What happened?”

 

“I don’t know.”  Jade admitted.  “But there’s been nothing!  No signs of Cal!  It’s over John, it’s finally over!”  She smiles.

 

“At what cost?”  Dave grumbles.

 

“Dave, try to relax, see the silver lining.  We’re safe now.”  Rose sighs.

 

“Yeah, the _three_ of us are safe.”  He growls.

 

“What?”  You frown, feeling like you’ve missed something important.  Your voice is rough and raw and you have to clear your throat and repeat word.

 

“Karkat’s gone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned this works part of a series?  
> (this has been the plan from the start)  
> I'll post the sequel after I complete writing Allergy.


End file.
